Federal court to hear arguments in same-sex marriage challenge

San Antonio, Texas – Attorneys for two same-sex couples who filed a lawsuit over a Texas constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage presented open arguments in federal court on Wednesday. As reported by Reuters, the suit challenges the amendment that establishes marriage to legally only be between one man and one woman.

Barry Chasnoff, an attorney for the plaintiffs, requested that U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia grant a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the amendment saying it subjects gays to “an unfair burden in the form of a stigma they do not deserve.”

Chasnoff is further quoted as stating, “These people are denied the fundamental right to marry because they were born with an immutable sexual orientation which some people do not like.”

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has vowed to defend the amendment, which was passed in 2005 after garnering support from 75 percent of voters.